11 Best Open Farm Alternatives in 2026

Health Extension and Jinx are the cheaper natural kibble swaps if Open Farm's price is the issue. For fully fresh or raw, Ollie, Nom Nom, PetPlate, and We Feed Raw lead. Spot & Tango, Sundays for Dogs, BIXBI, Farmina N&D, and Nulo cover format-specific needs. Match the pick to why you're leaving, not just to cost.

Open Farm sells dry kibble, wet food and stews, freeze-dried raw, and gently-cooked fresh food. The recipes are human-grade, with full ingredient traceability by lot number, and the brand has never had a mandatory recall. That is a strong record. It is also expensive. A 22lb bag of dry kibble runs about $87, and the fresh line starts around $7.92 per pound.

Per Dogster's vet-reviewed review, Open Farm is pricey, and it is not suited to dogs that need a prescription or therapeutic diet. The usual reason a satisfied owner still shops this query is the bag cost, or a wish to go fully fresh or raw instead of keeping kibble as the default. The names below are grouped around those shopping reasons, with a clear note on who each brand is a bad fit for.

How we picked these brands

• Checkable claims. We kept brands whose ingredient or sourcing story we could verify on a live homepage (human-grade, no corn/soy/wheat, Italian-made, USDA-kitchen process), not slogans we could not trace.
• Safety history we could find. Open Farm's own record (no mandatory recall) is documented in vet-reviewed coverage. We did not invent recall claims for anyone else.
• The three real exit ramps. Price, a format change (fresh or raw instead of kibble), or a specific need (sensitive stomach, ancestral grain-free, higher protein, shelf-stable air-dried).
• A real homepage. Every brand below resolved when we fetched it. If a site blocked us or we could not confirm the business, it came off the list.

At a glance

1. Ollie

Ollie delivers fresh, human-grade, vet-designed meals on a subscription, gently cooked to order. That is a full format switch from Open Farm's kibble and freeze-dried bags, closer to a dedicated fresh service than to another premium kibble.

Choose Ollie when you want personalized fresh meals and you are ready to pay a premium similar to or above Open Farm. Put it back if you are leaving Open Farm to spend less. Fresh subscriptions cost more per bowl than kibble, and the cheaper natural bags on this list are Health Extension and Jinx.

2. Nom Nom

Nom Nom makes gently-cooked fresh dog and cat food, with recipes formulated and scientifically evaluated by board-certified veterinary nutritionists. Next to Ollie's personalized-to-order pitch, Nom Nom is the simpler "sensitive stomach, vet-nutritionist recipe" choice.

This fits dogs with sensitive stomachs whose owners want a fresh recipe instead of kibble. A poor match if you want to grab a bag off a shelf. Like Ollie and PetPlate, this is a subscription you manage, not a one-time bag. If you are comparing these fresh boxes with other gently-cooked delivery brands, our brands like The Farmer's Dog roundup is the adjacent list.

3. PetPlate

PetPlate cooks human-grade meats and veggies to AAFCO standards, in small batches per USDA guidelines, with recipes developed with vet nutritionists and gently cooked at low temperatures. If the USDA-kitchen process is the proof you want, PetPlate is more specific on that point than Ollie or Nom Nom.

Go here for USDA-kitchen-prepared, vet-formulated fresh meals. Large-breed households on a tight budget will feel the cost faster, because fresh portions scale with body weight. If the dog is simply big and you need the bowl cheaper, Health Extension is the kibble that actually cuts the price.

4. We Feed Raw

We Feed Raw sells frozen raw and freeze-dried raw recipes (beef, turkey, chicken, duck, lamb), formulated by an animal nutritionist, with zero fillers. Open Farm already has freeze-dried raw. We Feed Raw is for people who want a raw specialist, not a freeze-dried add-on beside kibble.

This is the pick if you are fully committed to a raw diet. If handling and storing frozen raw food makes you nervous, or you do not have freezer space, Sundays for Dogs stays pantry-stable, and BIXBI keeps a dry-bag format with a raw coating.

5. Spot & Tango

Spot & Tango is known for UnKibble, a "Fresh Dry" food made from gently-cooked whole ingredients pressed into a kibble-like format, plus fully fresh meals. Ingredients are 100% human-grade, plans are personalized via a quiz, and food is manufactured in Allentown, PA. The homepage states over 150 million meals delivered.

That middle ground is the point: you are not forced into Ollie's fully fresh fridge stack or Open Farm's traditional kibble. Spot & Tango is still premium-priced, so if cost is why you opened this page, Health Extension and Jinx remain the cheaper lane.

6. Sundays for Dogs

Sundays for Dogs is vet-founded air-dried food formulated by Dr. Tory Waxman, with 80%+ meat content, no synthetic additives or artificial preservatives, and a "kill step" to eliminate pathogens (unlike raw). Unopened bags stay shelf-stable for 12 months.

Sundays for Dogs is for a fresher-than-kibble option without refrigeration, freezer space, or cooking. We Feed Raw is the better destination if you specifically want raw. Ollie, Nom Nom, or PetPlate if you actually want wet, gently-cooked bowls.

7. BIXBI

BIXBI is known for Rawbble, a small-batch, air/freeze-dried raw-coated kibble that adds raw-food benefits to a dry format, using natural ingredients. Mid-priced, so it sits under the fresh subscriptions and closer to Jinx than to Ollie.

BIXBI works when you want some raw-food benefit without a frozen raw diet. Dogs that do best on a grain-inclusive formula will get a better match from Nulo, because BIXBI's headline lines are grain-free.

8. Farmina N&D

Farmina N&D is Italian-made ancestral grain-free dog and cat food. That European ancestral-diet philosophy is the closest kibble-to-kibble swap for Open Farm's whole-food positioning if you care more about formula story than about a US plant.

Farmina N&D is for owners who want European-made, ancestral-diet kibble. If you specifically want a US-manufactured brand, Nulo, Health Extension, and Jinx stay on this side of the Atlantic.

9. Health Extension

Health Extension is natural-ingredient dry dog food positioned as a lower-cost alternative to premium brands. Independent PawDiet comparison data puts it at $3.60/lb, about 24% cheaper than Open Farm, with 27.6% protein and 16.3% fat. It is the only name here with third-party-verified pricing.

Health Extension is the budget pick. Fresh and raw shoppers should look past it. This line is dry kibble only, while Open Farm also sells wet, freeze-dried, and gently-cooked fresh, and while Ollie, Nom Nom, and We Feed Raw are built around those other formats.

10. Jinx

Jinx is a modern DTC dog food with no corn, soy, or wheat, plus superfood kibble, wet recipes, and drizzle-on toppers. You can buy it direct or at Target, Chewy, Walmart, and PetSmart. PawDiet also lists it as cheaper than Open Farm.

Jinx fits when you want a widely available brand rather than a subscription-only box. Freeze-dried or raw shoppers belong with We Feed Raw or BIXBI. Jinx's lineup is kibble, wet, and toppers. If you like ordering a modern pet brand without a meal-plan quiz, it sits closer to the DTC pet brands that also show up on retail shelves.

11. Nulo

Nulo makes high animal-protein, grain-inclusive and grain-free performance formulas for dogs and cats. Compared with Health Extension's value kibble and Farmina's ancestral grain-free line, Nulo is the protein bump for athletic dogs.

This is for active or working dogs that need more protein than a standard kibble. Senior dogs or others that need a lower-protein formula should look at a different bag on this list, not this performance line.

How to choose an Open Farm alternative

Start with the reason you are actually leaving, then pick the format that matches.

If the bag cost is the problem, take Health Extension first (about 24% cheaper, with third-party price and macro numbers) or Jinx if you also want a no-corn/soy/wheat kibble you can grab at Target, Chewy, Walmart, or PetSmart. Neither one replaces Open Farm's fresh or freeze-dried lines.

If you want fully fresh instead of kibble, take Ollie for personalized, vet-designed meals cooked to order, Nom Nom for a vet-nutritionist gently-cooked recipe aimed at sensitive stomachs, or PetPlate if USDA-kitchen, AAFCO-standard cooking is the proof point you care about. All three are premium subscriptions, so they are a format upgrade, not a savings play.

If you want raw, not just a freeze-dried kibble cousin, take We Feed Raw. If you want some raw benefit in a dry bag, take BIXBI's Rawbble. If you want a middle ground between traditional kibble and fully fresh, take Spot & Tango's UnKibble. If you want shelf-stable food that is still not conventional kibble, take Sundays for Dogs.

If you want a European ancestral grain-free kibble, take Farmina N&D. If your dog is active or working and you want higher animal protein, take Nulo (and skip it for a dog that needs less protein).

Want a wider kibble field than "instead of Open Farm"? Our best dog food brands guide is the broader shortlist.

Frequently asked questions

Why would someone look for an alternative to Open Farm if it's a good brand?

Usually price. Reviews consistently name cost as the main reason a happy Open Farm owner still shops around, not dissatisfaction with the food. A 22lb bag of dry kibble runs about $87, and fresh starts around $7.92 per pound. Other shoppers want a dedicated fresh, raw, or hybrid format instead of keeping kibble as the default.

Is Open Farm dog food worth the price?

It can be, if you are paying for human-grade recipes, lot-number traceability, and the ability to buy kibble, wet, freeze-dried raw, and gently-cooked fresh from one brand. If the checkout total is the problem, Health Extension is about 24% cheaper per PawDiet, and Jinx is also listed as cheaper, with retail availability Open Farm's premium bag does not try to match.

Has Open Farm ever had a recall?

Open Farm has never had a mandatory recall. There was one small voluntary withdrawal in 2024, described as precautionary rather than contamination. A clean mandatory-recall record is a real filter for a lot of shoppers, which is why people often look for an alternative that keeps the ingredient story without keeping the price.

What's the difference between fresh dog food and Open Farm's kibble or freeze-dried lines?

Open Farm already sells all three: dry kibble, freeze-dried raw, and gently-cooked fresh. Fresh is cooked, perishable, and typically sold by the portion (Open Farm's fresh line starts around $7.92 per pound). Kibble is the 22lb bag around $87. Freeze-dried is a raw-style dry format. Ollie, Nom Nom, and PetPlate are built around cooked fresh meals as the whole product, not as one SKU beside a kibble lineup.

What's a cheaper dog food with similarly natural ingredients?

Health Extension is the verified cheaper natural kibble: $3.60/lb, about 24% less than Open Farm, with 27.6% protein and 16.3% fat on PawDiet's comparison. Jinx is also noted there as cheaper than Open Farm, with no corn, soy, or wheat, plus wet recipes and toppers you can buy at major retailers. Neither is a fresh or raw swap.